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| Dec 13th, 2008 02:36 AM | |
| opey1 |
Schwarzenegger's charge to tax commission: End the roller-coaster ride About half of the tax revenue that California collects each year comes from personal income taxes, primarily on capital gains from the stock market and high-income earners. That means when the very wealthy are getting richer, so is the state, in the form of multibillion dollar surpluses. But the opposite is true in times like this: hence a deficit that officials warn could exceed $40 billion over the next 18 months. Thursday, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislative leaders appointed a bipartisan commission to help end the perpetual roller coaster ride. The panel has a large Silicon Valley contingent: Among its 12 members are two former heads of the Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, which analyzes quality of life issues affecting the region, and two fellows at Stanford's Hoover Institution. Months to work The panel, officially the "Bipartisan Commission on the 21st Century Economy," will meet over the next several months and make recommendations by April 15 about how to fix the state's tax structure, the governor said. Schwarzenegger said the current tax structure "is based on a farm and manufacturing model that no longer works for our rapidly changing technology and information-based economy." The group will be headed by Gerald Parsky, chairman of the investment firm Aurora Capital Group and a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Treasury Department. Until recently, Parsky, a Republican, was chairman of the state Board of Regents, on which he served for 12 years. The five members with Silicon Valley ties are: # Becky Morgan, a former Republican state senator and Santa Clara County supervisor. # Ruben Barrales, a Republican who succeeded Morgan as the head of Joint Venture and earlier was a San Mateo County supervisor. At present, he heads the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. # Michael Boskin and John Cogan, both senior fellows at the Hoover Institution and professors at Stanford. They are Republicans. # Fred Keeley, a former Democratic assemblyman from Santa Cruz. He's now the treasurer for Santa Cruz County and teaches political science at San Jose State. The full list of commission members is available at: gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/11233/. The appointment of the panel came on a day of rising tensions inside the Capitol over the budget deficit. Schwarzenegger's finance aides pegged the shortfall through mid-2010 at $41.8 billion — up more than a third from their estimates in recent weeks, and almost half what the state collects in tax revenue in an entire year — unless legislators take action soon. Earlier this week, Schwarzenegger pinned much of the blame on Republican legislative leaders, whom he said have refused to offer their bottom line for a deal. The governor has proposed a mix of spending cuts and tax increases, but Republicans have balked at any tax increases while offering a wish list that includes a variety of breaks for businesses and a strict limit on state spending. 'Difficult to negotiate' Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill bristled at the governor's criticism and said it "makes it difficult to negotiate in good faith" when they meet in private. Democratic leaders, meanwhile, say they plan to vote on a budget plan of some kind by the end of next week. "We'll do it with them or without them," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, referring to Republicans. But any tax increase would need at least three Republican votes in the Senate and three in the Assembly to pass. 
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| Apr 27th, 2008 08:19 PM | |
| Unregistered |
Re: GOVERNOR Arnold Schwarzenegger -- and he likes his hummer I would agree he is a bit over the edge sometimes. But it was not illegal or anything. |
| Apr 25th, 2008 12:28 AM | |
| Unregistered |
GOVERNOR Arnold Schwarzenegger -- and he likes his hummer GOVERNOR Arnold Schwarzenegger says on the tonight show that every man likes a little hummer (ha ha) -- referring it was fairly clear to oral sex or a b*** job it would seem--some people laughed--but is that not inappropriate for a governor to say on national TV. I just don't get what is allowed these days. |
